


Growth And Chemistry

by ferryn



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Also Skara's last name is Harper in this because she deserves a last name, Also will update tags as story progresses, Boscha's sick too, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Relationships, F/F, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Light Angst, Luz and Gus don't play a major role for now, Slow Burn, Uhh I dunno if i should tag it as normal angst but Boscha has some self destructive behaviours, canon compliant for season 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28127796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferryn/pseuds/ferryn
Summary: An incrediiibly slow burn that will tackleeverythingabout Boschlow. From redemption to their dynamic as a pair. Yes, I'm not just gonna redeem Boscha and then say "Well Willow liked her too I guess?? Apparently??" There will be more. Will try to update every two weeksChapter 1: Her Fall Was Her FaultRoaring can be heard from students spectating the game, cheering for their team’s victory. As caps are thrown around in celebration, Willow could only think about Boscha in her arms.And how she was the reason Hexside had lost.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Boscha & Skara (The Owl House), Boscha/Willow Park, Willow Park & Skara (The Owl House)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 97





	1. Her Fall Was Her Fault

Roaring can be heard from students spectating the game, cheering for their team's victory. As caps are thrown around in celebration, Willow could only think about Boscha in her arms.

And how she was the reason Hexside had lost.

Out on the Glandus field, Boscha can be heard yelling at the girl holding her, telling her to let go. Willow eagerly obliges, dropping her supposed 'captain,' the girl wincing when as her foot collides with the ground.

"Hey!"

"Sorry! My arms started hurting…" she says, kneeling next to her. "Are you hurt-"

"I don't need your sympathy, _Half-A-Witch!_ " Boscha stands up, brushing off any dirt that may have stained her letterman jacket. "You're the reason we lost!"

"Me?" Willow closes the gap between them. "I wasn't the one who was being careless the whole game."

"I was the one being careless?! I could've had the shot if you didn't just screw it up with your stupid plants!"

"But you fell off!"

Willow couldn't take the girl's arguments any longer. She regrets even joining the team in the first place. If only she didn't feel bad when she came to her begging because of, oh would you look at that! Her own reckless behaviour! Who would've thought that the 'queen' who overworked one of her teammates so much to the point that she quit would be barking at her as well? Willow really thought _that_ one through.

She wishes she could tell Boscha off straight to her face. But she knows enough that it would just lead to an even bigger scene. Instead, she decides to just walk away. It's done. They lost, why bother worrying? Can't do anything about it now.

"Hey!" Boscha yells from behind her.

Willow admits Boscha's voice is enough to make her head feel as though a 20 pound garbage bin was dropped on it. "What?"

"Don't just walk away from this!"

"You're clearly not going to go by our agreement, so please just leave me alone." Yes, the agreement they made that Willow would only join if Boscha would stop picking on her and her friends.

"Agreement my ass! Why would I follow our stupid agreement if you're the reason we lost in the first place!"

Willow doesn't respond. Tears form around her eyes.

She doesn't care! She swears she doesn't! It's done, it's over, please just move on. She only 'messed up' because she didn't want to see Boscha get hurt, and now suddenly... _She's_ the monster for caring?

She doesn't understand.

A small sob escapes her, her hands cover her red face as they wipe away her tears.

_Maybe it was her fault..._

"What so now you're crying?" Boscha snaps at her. "Do you expect me to care?"

"N-no…" Her voice shakes as it lets out those words.

The crowd observing them had disappeared from their seats, save for the handful of students watching the melodrama unfold, namely Gus and Luz. However, before they had the chance to intervene, the other Banshees saw what was happening, and one spoke up.

"Boscha." Skara said, placing her hand on Boscha's shoulder. "Stop."

"Skara…?"

"Stop trying to blame it all on Willow, it was your fault too."

"But she made us lose!"

"No- Boscha, _you_ made us lose." Skara turns to Willow, reaffirming her that she did great, even with _Boscha_ as the captain.

Willow lets out a small giggle at the jab at Boscha. However, Willow notices Boscha's finger drawing what she can only assume to be another fire spell. Deciding it's probably best to walk away before things escalate any further, she wipes away her tears, thanks Skara, and makes her way to the stands. Willow jumps eagerly into her best friends' arms.

With them fangirling over Willow playing grudgby, Willow reminds them that she was only doing it for _one_ game, to which Gus sighs in disappointment. He _really_ wanted to see Willow playing grudgby again. But Willow was firm.

After a few healthy chuckles at the events that occurred during the match and a promise to meet up at Hexside, the three quickly part ways as their guardians are waiting to pick them up. Except for Willow's.

She sits on a bench, waiting near the gates As she's waiting, she hears a familiar voice calling to her.

"Hey! Willow!~" the lighthearted voice yells with a drawn out singsong. Skara runs up to the witch, panting from the amount of sprinting around she had been doing the whole day, no, _week._ "Glad I caught ya!"

"Oh, hi! Sorry about earlier..." Willow said. Upon closer inspection, she notices that Skara is wearing Boscha's jacket.

"Oh no no no it's fine!" Skara assures her. "I was just gonna ask if you actually wanted to stay in the team."

"Really?" Willow thinks about how Boscha would probably just boss her around again, which to be honest is the exact opposite of what she wants. "I don't think _Boscha_ would want me around.."

"Yeah about that…" she starts off.

"Boscha isn't on the team anymore. The teacher saw-" Skara directs a small circular motion with her hand, looking Willow up and down with a pained expression on her face. "and well... she kinda got herself into some trouble."

Willow holds back a small chuckle trying to claw its way out of her throat. "Wait! So who's..."

"The captain? She's right here!" Skara does a small dramatic turn, her foot forming a spell circle, turning the jacket she's wearing to a shade of silver as the magenta B in front turns into a golden S. _"_ And she thinks you should join the grudgby team! That is, if you want to?"

Willow thinks about Gus and Luz's disappointed faces when she said she would only be playing for one game, and figures, why not? Not only is Boscha _not the captain,_ but she can also show off to Boscha that she is a much more capable grudgby player than her.

"Deal!"

* * *

Meanwhile, an ex-Banshee is found trudging through Bonesborough.

Boscha knows she's only prolonging the inevitable, her mother would scold her for losing, and she'd _love_ to hear what she has to say about her hurting herself. Her ankle feels as though it was stepped on by a titan, and while she wouldn't _wish_ for a titan to step on her right now, if this metaphorical titan _did exist,_ she certainly wouldn't mind if it's foot made contact with her head and the ground simultaneously .

It's what she deserves.

Knowing she sprained her ankle before the game.

But she was _fine._ It was just a twisted ankle, she barely feels anything! It was _Willow's_ fault for… For…

Damn.

It really was her fault.

Boscha stops, and she wasn't quite sure if it was because her ankle is aching like hell or because she was passing by Skara's home. She wishes she could stay over because she'd rather get a passing glance from Skara's father than be scolded by her own mother, but…. Skara… Doesn't really want her right now.

Whatever. She'll just continue trudging on with her left leg.

Quickly passing the Harper's Manor she makes her way back home. As much as she'd love to take her usual route of getting to her room via the window down the hall, her right foot would probably fall off if she tries that stunt. So instead she walks in through the door like a _normal_ witch.

Walking through the door she's greeted by the usual passive aggressive remark from her mother. It turns into her lecturing Boscha for making a fool of herself in front of hundreds of people. Boscha barks back, remarking that _Amity_ isn't in the grudgby team anymore. To which her mother replies with her usual mantra of 'Don't worry about them, worry about yourself! Just because _they're_ a disappointment doesn't mean _you_ have to be!'

After arguing with her mother for what feels like two hours, she finally caves in and shuts her mouth. And after what feels like another hour of her mother talking down on her, she finally leaves.

Finally. _Peace._ Boscha sprints up the stairs, only to be reminded of her fucked up ankle as she falls face first on the 5th step. Titan, she was pathetic. Finally making it into her bedroom, tears start pouring out her eyes, hitting the floor as hard her body hitting her bed.

She wishes she could just fall asleep, but her foot is begging to be put out of its misery, and the tears staining her face weren't as refreshing as one would think.

Defeated, the witch opens up Penstagram and searches for Skara's profile, and finds that Skara had soft-blocked her. She scrolls through numerous pictures before finding a post showcasing Skara taking a selfie with Willow with a caption that reads, "Welcome to the team W1llow_Park 3 !"

She closes her scroll, clenching her fist enough that knuckles crack harder than they should. Her head boiling with irritation, she turns on the humidifier next to her bed to avoid giving herself another nosebleed, allowing herself to fall asleep to the sweet scent of honey and lavender...

Until her scroll pops up again.

A direct message from Skara:

_Hey Bosch._

_Look out the window._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of many! Feel free to give criticism or corrections :]


	2. To Be More Than Not Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh. Better updated late than never updated amirite?
> 
> Also Blood Warning. Nothing violent though.

Willow is doing the routine of plant room maintenance.

Saturday..

At 5am in the morning. 

She really _really_ wishes she didn’t have to. She’s exhausted from yesterday. She’ll just get it over with quickly! Then pass out the moment she gets back home! Perfect plan!

Though it seems the door was already unlocked. 

How odd.

She knew for sure she was the one assigned today. But she checks in, just in case.

“Hello?”

The door creaks open, causing Skara to jump at the sudden intrusion.

“Ack! Oh- Hey! Willow!” She said, giving Willow a perfectly innocent smile.

“What are you doing here? On a Saturday, _this_ early?”

Skara explains. Apparently, she’s looking for an herb, and unfortunately for her, she doesn’t know anything about plants. She was just trying to guess based on google images, but everything looks the same to her untrained eyes.

Willow laughs. How convenient! An opportunity to lighten her workload. “I’ll help you find it.”

“Really!”

“Yep. If you help clean the room.”

“Oh.” She should’ve known that there was a catch. “Can’t I just pay you instead...”

“You _could._ But also, explain how you broke in here in the first place?”

Damn, and Skara thought she dodged a bullet. “...Fine. You win. I’ll help.”

“Great!”

They quickly got to work, the room ghost-quiet, both wanting to get it over with as soon as possible; the sound of pouring water, the cool air of dawn flowing in. An almost comfortable silence... Almost.

It was a little awkward.

Skara, engrossed with the elevator music playing in her head, accidentally knocks over a plant. She apologizes quickly, expecting Willow to be upset at her. But to her surprise, Willow just laughs it off, quickly putting the plant back in its place with one spell cast.

“Wow you’re really good at this.” Skara doesn’t know why she said that. “You must do this a lot?”

“You’d be surprised how often it happens.”

“Really?” _‘Please, tell me more. I’m so bored.’_ Skara thought to herself.

Willow, seemingly reading her mind, regales Skara, talking about the little mishaps that have occured during her time in the Plant Track. And to Skara’s surprise, she’s actually interested! Though she does ask how she got onto the plant track, because for as long as she could remember, Willow was in Abomination with Amity.

The two witches blabber on, the conversation flowing smoothly. They did not have a lot in common, which was an interesting change of pace for the both of them. Moving swiftly from topic to topic, though a common theme being their ‘weird’ friends. Whom they both absolutely cherish.

Oh hey would look at that, done already! That was fast! Willow hands over the plant to Skara.

“What’s the herb for anyway?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh it’s just, I know this plant heals injuries. I was wondering if it was for...”

“...Boscha.”

“Yes…”

“Wow. You’re really perceptive. Yeah it is for Boscha.” Skara takes out a piece of paper from her pocket. “She told me she twisted her ankle. So she asked me to get these things for her.”

Willow looks over to see a list of potion ingredients. “That is _way_ too strong of a healing potion for just a twisted ankle!” She swipes the paper from Skara’s fingers, examining it closer. “Are you sure she didn’t break her entire skeleton?”

Skara laughs. She wonders if she should tell her. “It’s complicated.” It wasn’t, she just wasn’t sure if Willow would be able to handle information like that.

“Anyways,” Skara continues, quickly changing the topic. “Speaking of yesterday, we were going to play Grudgby tomorrow, wanna come?”

“Geez. Don’t you guys _ever_ get tired?” Willow teases, but to be fair, she would’ve expected nothing less.

“ _Please._ Don’t take it so seriously. It’s just for fun! House rules and all that.” Skara gets up, plant in hand. “DM me if you want!”

With that, Skara leaves. And Willow is left to ponder.

“What did she mean by ‘it’s complicated?’”

“What took you so long! I am _literally_ dying!” Boscha complains, opening up the window.

“Sorry! I kinda lost track of time...” Skara hands her the stuff she asked for. “So are we even? Are you still mad?”

Boscha groans. Yes she is still mad. Though now she’s just _slightly_ less mad.

“I’ll take that as a ‘Yes I forgive you you’re the best!’ then.” Skara smiles, trying her very best to charm her.

Boscha doesn’t have the energy to care anymore. She’s too exhausted. And she needs to save up her energy for what she’s about to endure. “Yeah okay okay thanks mom.”

Either that or she decides to just let the world take her, either one. She hasn’t fully decided yet. “Now run along, I have a potion to brew.”

“Ok take care of yourself. You better still be alive for tomorrow.”

Heh. She knows her too well.

Boscha hurries back into her study, pulls out a cauldron, and starts chucking in ingredients.

She knows this potion could potentially make her sick.

Or worse.

She wishes she wasn’t born this way. 

Being the weakest in her group of friends.

Brewing potions for the rest of her life.

She stirs the pot faster. Concentrating on the smell of burnt herbs and animal bones. Ironic, the remains of life contain more magic than her… Shut up brain!

She needs this potion. Now. She doesn’t care if she’ll pass out once this thing sucks up all her magic to heal her leg. She’d rather deal with her mom thinking she slept in the whole day.

Grabbing an empty bottle, she bottles up some of the hot liquid.

Boscha makes her way to her bedroom, making sure to lock the door behind her. Potion in hand, she sits down on her bed.

Bottoms up…

Her head starts to ache, pain stabbing her in the chest, the room spins and spins around her bed; she feels nauseous.

Her chest tightens. She hears the faint sound of shattering in the distance, her bed sways under her, pillow making contact with her head.

Everything is dark.

Yet peaceful.

Eyes adjusting to the dark room, she feels something dripping down her nose.

Blood...

Gross.

She sits up, and coughs. Something’s stuck in her throat. Her head turns to her pillow.

More blood. More gross.

She grabs the tissues on the nightstand, and spits the remaining blood into the bin. Boscha grabs the water bottle she always keeps next to her bed and attempts to drown out the taste of metal from her tongue.

Ignoring the sweat seeping through her shirt, that was the best sleep she’s had in weeks. No really! She slept like a dead person. 

Ok, she really feels disgusting.

She wipes off some of the sweat from her forehead, and starts tugging at the neckline of her shirt. Wearing a tanktop under a shirt wasn’t the best idea in terms of sleepwear she must admit, but what can ya do.

Chucking her shirt across the floor, she lets her hand fall limp off the bed, to the feeling of shattered glass.

“Ow.” She looks over the side of the bed to see the broken potion bottle. “OHhhh… Right. That...”

“Ehh I’ll deal with that later.”

After a few light stretches, she kicks the blanket off her, and closes her eyes. She wasn’t comfortable, but it was good enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just realized the last format was Willow - Boscha too! Huh. Go figure. Don't worry! They'll butt heads again.
> 
> Anyways I had to reset my phone so I lost a lot of stuff that killed a lot of my motivation to write. But it's fine now! I'm writing in google docs hehe :D
> 
> Expect more updates. Irregular updates probably, for all you know next chapter could be three days from now. We'll see. But I had fun writing this chapter so y'know :p


	3. Back to Normal, Right?

It was the quiet period at the end of every school year, well it’s quiet if you’ve already submitted your schoolwork. 

You can only feel sorry for the poor souls who haven’t submitted anything since the first quarter.

Boscha’s scroll pops up.

“Hey Bosch can you hang out? I’m bored in the library.” Skara said.

“Why are you in the library?” Boscha replied.

“I’m finishing up my problem sets…”

“Wasn’t the deadline for last month?”

“... maybe.”

“Were you procrastinating again?”

“Only on math!”

“Hmm fine I’ll help.”

“I didn’t need help I just wanted to talk, but sure!”

“No no that’s not how you do it! You’re supposed to multiply it first!” Boscha said, scribbling on a piece of spare paper.

“No you’re not! You’re supposed to divide it first!” Skara said, pointing at her work.

“No the rule is PEMDAS! Multiplication first!”

“SHH!”

“...”

“Boscha...” Skara said, lowering her tone.

“What?”

“Multiplication and Division are on the same level.”

“Yeah so? Multiply is still first.”

“You’re ignoring the left to right rule!”

“Grrr. If you’re so much better than me at math then why did you even ask me for help?”

“I didn’t  _ ask  _ for help, I just wanted someone to talk to.”

“Hnghh. Why do you even do math so late when you’re already good at it?”

“Because.” Skara said. “Math. Is. Boring”

Skara continues to work on her problem sets. Boscha watches. She listens to the sounds of the pen scratching the paper’s surface. 

She wonders if she should read a book.

She looks behind her, the romance section taunts her love life. She knows Skara can’t possibly relate. Boscha considered her emotions complicated enough as is. She’d rather not add to the confusion.

“Hey,” Skara speaks up.

“Hm?”

“Why did we tease Willow so much?”

“...”

“She’s really nice once you get to know her.”

“She hates me.”

“Hate is a strong word.”

“I bullied her.”

“But I did that too…?”

“You’re different.”

Skara doubts that.

”She stole everything from me.”

“What? What did she steal?”

Boscha looks outside the tall window, ignoring Skara. Her eyes settle onto the sun painting orange stripes across the lavender water.

“I don’t understand your logic, Boscha.”

“...It’s getting late.” Boscha gets up from her seat. “See ya.”

“I can tell you’re hiding something.”

“Mhm. Which means I don’t want to talk. Goodbye.” Boscha said.

She knew Skara just wouldn’t understand.

“Can I at least get a hug?”

“What for?”

“Because the school year’s over?”

“Uhm… Sorry. No.”

Skara pouts her lips and gives her a disappointed face.

“Ugh. Fine.”

Skara wraps her arms around Boscha’s waist. Boscha tenses up, before slowly reciprocating; she doesn’t want to admit it, but she felt a little better.

But that is a sign of weakness.

And weakness is not a good sign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a quiter, more peaceful chapter. But then again, I planned out like 5 more chapters ahead of this [and more to come!] and already wrote chapter 4 too, so look forward to that! B)


	4. Running From Problems

Boscha is on a quick jog around Bonesborough

Taking her usual route, not much is different from her usual runs. Just some boring old houses, the market… People playing grudgby in the field…

"Is that…?"

Amity was sitting next to Willow on the grass. Chatting.

"They're probably laughing at me," Boscha thought.

She walks over to the wide open field. Walking on the well worn ribbon of dirt leading to it.

Boscha looks at Skara.

Skara waves at her with a big smile on her face. She waves back, the corners of her mouth twitching up ever so slightly.

"Don't smile. People will see you." Boscha reminds herself.

She sits down a few feet away from Amity and Willow.

She watches Skara, analyzing every move she does. She would be impressed, if she didn't know Skara could do better. Well it's not an important game anyway. And she may as well go easy on those two dorks.

Of course, as much as Boscha loved Grudgby, watching someone else play can only be so fun. And she would admit, she was starting to get bored.

Willow laughs. Boscha's ears perk up at the sudden interruption of the silence. She looks at them.

Willow already felt awkward being alone with Amity, and she knew Amity could sense that from her nervous laughter, and with Boscha sitting next to them, it's safe to say she wasn't very comfortable.

Willow decides to switch with Luz. She can feel three eyes on her as she stands up.

Boscha focuses on Willow.

She criticizes every move she makes. Her thoughts are about as toxic and pathetic as the insults of a 12 year old with an awful mic playing Fortnite.

"I hope she breaks a leg." Boscha thought to herself.

Willow runs on top of a thorn vault, her face intense with focus.

And her foot makes contact with air.

An abomination hand emerges from the ground, catching Willow. Everyone runs over to check on her, asking if she's okay.

Boscha feels something in her chest. Her hands move on instinct, throwing fire in their general direction.

It goes past Willow's head.

"What the heck?!" Skara yelled.

Boscha said nothing.

She was fuming. She doesn't know why.

But she's better than that.

She doesn't care.

~•✽────── ✿ ──────✽•~

Except she does.

The days went on like this. Boscha would try to embarrass Willow in any way she can manage, though she was pretty pathetic, like how most of her insults were.

One time, Willow talked back, and Boscha felt even more infuriated. That entertained her. So much so, she was playing a game with herself of 'How good is the dummy's hearing?' where she would murmur remarks under her breath.

It made Boscha even more annoyed, and she paid even more attention to every word that came out of her mouth. It came to the point where Boscha would just stare at Willow's lips.

Skara quickly caught onto their petty game of cat and mouse. She took it upon herself to keep them away from each other.

But one witch can only do so much.

Day after day, the two bickered like dumb school kids.

Frankly, Skara was getting tired. Being the oldest, she felt obligated to be a physical barrier between them. Okay, they're just a year younger, but they're still being immature.

"Boscha would know," Willow said, her voice barely a whisper.

"WHAT THE FUC—"

"BOSCHA!" Everyone would yell at her, and she would sink back into her seat.

Willow laughed at the poor puppy getting lectured. It was the best part of her day to be frank. She was almost excited every time Boscha would tag along.

But Skara was still getting very annoyed at the constant tension between them. Boscha's irritation is starting to rub off on her.

But it's fine. Everything's _fine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until it wasn't :)
> 
> Also tell me if y'all can actually see the divider since I'm using it so I don't have to add in the dividers manually when I copy and paste. I'm also posting the fic on FFN


	5. On Top Of The Mountain

"What brings you two to my humble abode?" Luz said, beckoning Gus and Willow to take a seat.

"Amity wanted us to ask you if you wanted to go to the flower festival tomorrow." Willow said.

"Festival? There's a festival?! What for?"

"There's a magic tree blooming tomorrow! It only blooms once a year." Gus said. "Can I tell the folk tale pleasee!"

"Yes! Take the floor!"

"Ok!"

Gus conjures up three illusions. He explains the story of three star crossed lovers, they died tragically. A tree grew where they were buried. It grows exactly 11 flowers every year.

"It is said that whoever gets a flower from the tree with pure intentions will find their soulmate. But if you get it for other reasons, your love life will be tragic." Gus said.

"WOW! But why would it curse you if you give it away?" Luz said.

"I guess it's because the flower itself represents your love." Willow said. "So you can choose to keep it safe, or giveaway your chance at love for someone else—"

Eda barges in through the door. Hooty groans at the sudden face kick.

"Guess who's going to get a flower tomorrow!" Eda yelled.

"But Eda, you don't even have a boyfriend!" Luz said. "Won't you get cursed!?"

"It's just a myth!" Eda said. "Plus, do you know how many people there are who would wanna buy that flower?"

"Hmm." Luz thought about it. "Ok! That's settled then! You can tell Amity I'm coming to the festival with her!"

"So how do we get there?"

~•✽────── ✿ ──────✽•~

"Jeez!" Luz exclaimed. She takes off her sweat-drenched indigo scarf. "How much longer do we have to climb these stairs?!"

"We're almost there!" Eda said. She points at the floating lights lighting the top of the mountain. The sun was setting already.

"Finally!"

Luz is astonished by the sight of the huge tree, the petals a nice light pinkish color. The circular stone path surrounding it was filled to the brim with merchants looking to make a quick buck. Lots of them were selling saplings, claiming they were 'grown from the branches of the tree itself!'

"Hey Wil— Woah!" Luz looks over at Willow, whose cheeks are red. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just secondhand embarrassment. I overheard someone get rejected."

Amity visibly winces at the statement, though only Willow seemed to notice. Willow holds herself back from giggling.

"You should see her when she's out in the sun! Her face gets _really_ red."

"Augustus!"

"Okay now that we're here, you four can go do whatever you want." Eda hands Luz a small bag of snails. "King and I are going to catch a flower! See you kids in a few hours."

"What about me!" Hooty said.

"Since when were you here?!" King yells at him.

Willow pokes Amity. It was time to execute their brilliant plan.

"Me and Gus are uh… Gonna go look around for some snacks!" Willow said. "Have fun you two!"

Willow and Gus run off to find something else to do.

They find some master illusionists re-enacting the folk tale. Gus asks Willow if they could watch, but Willow didn't find it all that interesting, but she wasn't stopping him from enjoying the show.

She walks off by herself, appreciating the alone time.

She notices something falling gently from the tree. She tries to grab it, but someone pushes her out of the way.

It's Boscha.

Because of course it is.

"Aha! Got it! Yes!" She yelled in excitement.

"Yeah wow, you really did." Willow dusts off the dirt on her jacket. "Lucky you, _Boscha._ "

"Better luck next time leaf girl!"

"Well you seem excited." Willow remarks, teasing her. "Is there a special someone? A crush maybe?"

"Ew. No. I just promised my followers on Penstagram that I'd catch one!" Boscha proudly holds up the flower.

"Oh..." Willow said. "So you're cursed now?"

"Curse Shmurse! I don't care! What matters is I got the flower!" She grabs her scroll to take a selfie, but she drops it.

It falls through the grass.

"What?"

Boscha steps down on the grass, the ground opens up. She grabs onto Willow's hand, causing both of them to stumble in.

They fall from a massive drop. Willow uses her free hand to summon a bush beneath them to cushion their fall. They look around, the cave is massive. The tree's roots are hanging from the ceiling. Not only that, but the lava below them wasn't exactly the most welcoming thing.

Boscha pulls her hand away from Willow's "I didn't need your help!"

"Ugh," Willow wipes her palm onto her pants. "Why did you have to grab onto me?! Now we're both stuck in here!"

Boscha grunts. She takes off her jacket. The heat was already starting to make her sweat. "How are we gonna get out of here?"

"I DON'T KNOW! DO I LOOK LIKE THE CAVE EXPERT!" Willow yells at her.

Her voice echoes across the walls.

The ground trembles and shakes, something emerges from the lava pool below them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter was getting pretty long so I split it in two! See ya tomorrow :]


	6. Keep Distance

A serpent-like skeleton emerges from the lava. It's bones rattle and shake.

Boscha throws a rock at it.

It hisses. Lava spews out of its mouth.

Willow pushes Boscha out of the way. Willow uses the roots of the tree to bridge their way to it.

They walked into another room, it looked exactly the same. There was a bridge beneath an opening. Light was coming from it.

"If you're not gonna help just stay here and don't mess anything up. Got it?"

"I get it I get it, I'm bad you're good." Boscha said, almost mocking Willow.

"Why do you have to turn everything into an argument?!"

"As if you're not trying to!"

"I'm not! I swear I'm not!"

"Right! Like you taking _everything_ away from me was just all coincidence!" Boscha said. "But if you're _so_ smart, you get out by yourself! I'm gonna go find my scroll!"

"Fine!"

Willow runs over to the other side. The bridge is long and narrow, and one wrong move can mean death for her. She attempts to jump and grab the edge. Her glasses fall off, and she accidentally steps on them causing her to slip. She grabs onto the bridge.

"HELP!" Willow yells.

The demon emerges from the hole they entered from.

The demon spits lava at Willow, it hits her hands. She struggles to hold onto the bridge.

"HEY DUMMY OVER HERE!"

The demon turns its attention to the loud repeating sound.

"HEY DUMMY OVER HERE!" It repeats in the exact same tone, the demon slithers away to look for it.

A loud scream echoes throughout the cavern, followed by a crack and a loud thud.

"Boscha?!" Willow was drenched in sweat. Her hands were slipping. She scratches and claws at the stone bridge, but her fingers were too weak from the burns.

Boscha sprints towards Willow, she grabs her wrists.

They run. Boscha grabs onto the ledge. Willow hoists her up. Boscha lifts her up with her.

The demon lurks below them. The bridge crumbles as it bursts through it.

Willow casts a spell circle, plants emerge from the ground, she covers the hole. The demon spits lava at them once again, burning the plants. Boscha burns the roots covering the exit. They both run outside, the cave collapses behind them.

The two are dripping with sweat. They're exhausted.

Boscha starts power walking up the mountain stairs.

Willow follows behind her.

Boscha sneakers clack against the stone stairs as she tries to go up faster. A sob escapes her throat.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Willow said.

"Leave me alone."

Willow grabs Boscha's wrist. "Are you hurt? I can draw a healing glyph—"

"No It's just… forget it."

Boscha runs up the stairs. She inhales through her mouth. She's struggling to breathe.

"I lost my scroll, I lost my _dumb_ jacket." Boscha mumbles under her breath."I don't… I don't _have_ anything anymore."

"Hmm… You still have your flower right? That's one thing?"

She huffs. Boscha's elbows tense up in annoyance. "Wh… What's your deal?"

"Excuse me?"

Boscha looks up at Willow, her eyebrows furrowed. She looked almost frustrated, though, tears were welling up in her eyes.

"I thought you hated me? Why are you following me? Can't a girl sulk in peace?"

"I'm comforting you…?"

"Listen, Park, I'm not getting any comfort from being pestered by _you_ of all people."

Boscha walks up to the railing, she focuses on the purple sky.

Willow places her hand on Boscha's shoulder.

"DO YOU _FUCKING_ MIND?!"

Without a word, Willow holds out a handkerchief. Boscha looks at it, and pushes it away. She gestures for Willow to go away, but Willow was stubborn. She stood there, watching her.

"Are you only here for the flower or something? If so it's gone."

Willow's eyes peered back at her. She was smiling.

"What can I do to get you to leave me alone?"

She said nothing, Willow's eyes went over Boscha's head.

Boscha grunts. "Why are you so keen on annoying me? Is this a game to you?"

People were passing by them, mumbling. She hears someone laughing.

Boscha leans forward. A flower falls from her head. She catches it. Willow hides her giggle behind her burned hands. Boscha blushes at her foolishness.

"Ugh. You're too cute for me to hate you."

"What?" Willow's face was red.

"I meant that in like, a cute puppy kind of way and not— Y'know what? Forget it."

Boscha carefully places the flower behind Willow's ear. Boscha's light blue eyes seemed to glow under the moonlight. Though in retrospect, Willow couldn't see anything else without her glasses.

"Uh?" Willow said. "So you still don't believe you're cursed?"

"With a 'tragic love life'? Relationships are already tragic to begin with. I'd like to see the 'curse' try. Heh." Boscha's eyes dart away. She's smiling.

~•✽──────✿──────✽•~

[Later]

"There you are!" Luz runs up to Willow, embracing her tightly. "And you got a flower! Did anything spectacular happen?"

"I uh. Not much really." Willow said. "You?"

She knew what she was insinuating, and Luz knew, and literally everyone knew.

"Well uhh…"

Willow notices Amity holding Luz's hand. She's hiding her red face under her indigo scarf.

Gus's eyes bounce back and forth between Willow and Amity with a huge grin on his face.

She mouths towards Gus, 'Was it good?'

Gus gives Willow two thumbs up and mouths back a simple 'yes!'

_Damn it, Boscha! You made me miss the lumity moment!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny curse go brr. That totally isn't gonna be brought up *nervous laughter* Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I think it feels a little more light hearted for some reason?


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